The Red Elephants of Kenya

These vibrant red elephants are from Tsavo, Kenya, where the deep red soil gives the animals their unusual color. The elephants take frequent dustbaths which help protect their skin, and the bright red mud stays on their skin even after they bathe in water, so that they are naturally dyed by the soil. The elephants live in the Kenyan East National Park, one of the country's oldest and largest parks.

The elephants are currently battling the rampant poaching of bulls and large females, so that young elephants are often orphaned, and the herds are distorted in favor of weaker, smaller animals. See more information on the red elephants in National Geographic's story, "Blood Ivory".